Corbyn surge part of global trend: Crosby

The Australian election strategist who oversaw Theresa May's disastrous UK campaign has defended her decision to go to the polls early, and said the shock result was another unexpected event in an increasingly "erratic" political climate.

Sir Lynton Crosby - who helped John Howard win multiple terms in Australia before heading to England to work for the Tories - on Tuesday avoided a "detailed dissection" of the campaign but defended the result.

The pollster backed the Conservatives' decision to call an early election which saw Ms May lose her parliamentary majority in June.

"I think Theresa May was absolutely right in her judgement that she needed the strongest possible position to negotiate the democratic will of the British people (for Brexit)," Sir Lynton said in Sydney at an Australian British Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

"It's a bit like a match at Wimbledon. You're not trying to win games, you're trying to win sets. She won games, the majority of the votes ... but she didn't win enough seats to govern in her own right."

The pollsters, commentators and even some Labour MPs who predicted a Tory victory were unable to foresee the "unexpected Corbyn surge", Sir Lynton said on Tuesday.

He went on to draw parallels between Labour's resurgence under leader Jeremy Corbyn and the rise of Donald Trump, left-wing US Democrat Bernie Sanders and French President Emmanuel Macron.

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"Some say it's a backlash against globalisation or a continuing reaction to the financial crash or an epic inter-generational struggle," Sir Lynton said.

But, the pollster argued, it was actually much more complex and had to do with voters' emotions.

Sir Lynton's C|T Group polled numerous countries and found that people in developing economies were optimistic about their nation's future, while those in developed, stable countries were more pessimistic.

"Trust has been undermined, hope for a better future seems dimmed, the next generation feels its lot will be less than the current generation," he said.

"It's little wonder that some voters are looking for something different or more. In some cases, they just wish to shake up the system thinking nothing can be any worse."

Sir Lynton said a clear set of beliefs was the only antidote to an increasingly anti-establishment voter base.

"It's the erosion of values, trust, consistency, doing things for the right reason, commitment to a better future that I believe has produced the current erratic political climate," he said.

"I fought many campaigns in many countries and the one thing that's clear to me, wherever you are, all voters want is a better life tomorrow for themselves and their families.

"The party that gives a more optimistic answer will be the one that succeeds."